The Nepal-based Embassy of the Republic of Korea successfully hosted the ‘K-Pop World Festival’ at the Nepal Academy in Kamaladi today. The event aimed to entertain K-pop enthusiasts and provide a taste of modern Korean culture.
Since 2016, the Korean Embassy in Nepal has organized regional preliminary rounds of the ‘K-Pop World Festival’, an event that has been held annually in Changwon, South Korea, since 2011. The festival in Nepal serves as a stepping stone for local talent to participate in the main event.
The event was graced by the presence of the Korean Ambassador to Nepal, Park Tae-young, who served as the chief guest. In his welcome address, Ambassador Park highlighted the significance of the 50th Golden Jubilee of diplomatic relations between Korea and Nepal. He emphasized the strengthening of people-to-people ties through the shared love of K-pop, the Korean language, and culture.
Ambassador Park stated, “There is a unique affinity among Nepali people towards Korean culture. Their passion extends beyond K-pop to include Korean language, drama, and cuisine. Recognizing this admiration, the embassy plans to continue cultural exchanges and programs to further strengthen our bilateral relations.”
He expressed confidence that the selected Nepali group would perform admirably in the final competition in Changwon, South Korea, and extended his best wishes to all participants. This year’s preliminary selection process was conducted online from June 6 to June 23, with over 30 teams submitting audio-visual performances of their favorite K-pop songs. From these entries, twelve teams, including dance groups, solo dancers, and singers, were chosen to perform at today’s festival.
Among the performers, the Aurelia group was selected for group dance, Anjali Nepali for singing, and Samrat Sunuwar for solo dance. The audio-visual performances of the selected participants will be sent to Korea for final evaluation. The top performers among them will have the opportunity to compete at the ‘K-Pop World Festival’ in Korea.
In 2016, the Mongolian Namja dance group represented Nepal at the festival, reflecting the growing interest in K-pop among Nepali youth. The South Korean government has been providing opportunities for Nepali artists to participate in such events, recognizing the significant attraction to Korean pop culture in Nepal.
The Korean Embassy noted that cultural programs like these play a crucial role in strengthening the relationship between Nepal and South Korea as people-to-people contact increases. The embassy remains committed to fostering closer cultural ties through continued cultural exchanges and events.
